Most buildings in Toronto have panic bars on exit doors. Offices with high occupancy also need panic bars on fire exits.
Exit devices are an important part of a buildings fire safety plan. Like a seat belt, we hope we will never need it but we use it every day anyway.
The idea of a panic bar is that if a crowd of people are panicking behind you and crush you against the door the panic bar will unlock the door so that everyone can leave the building and get to safety.
A good quality, professionally installed panic bar lock will last for 25 years. A lock is the most dependable machine you use everyday. It can be very inconvenient when a lock stops working. When choosing exit hardware it is important to use the correct panic bar for each door. Many panic bars are designed to be used hundreds of times each day for many years. Some are not. The Von Duprin 2200 series is meant for light use, several times per day.
For high traffic doors we recommend the Von Duprin 98/99 series exit devices.
Jason Scheide
Jason Scheide has worked as a locksmith in Toronto since 1994. He is currently the president of Spadina Security.
